Sebastien
Mae Kham Mai
Mae Kham Mai
Introducing Mae Kham Mai, the latest elephant rescued at the ECC.
Mae Kham Mai has not had an easy 30+ years of life so far. She's travelled all over Laos following logging operations with various owners, the only respite that she's been allowed was a few months when she was pregnant. I visited Mae Kham Mai on the edge of a forest near Luang Prabang and found her to not be in the best of condition.
Riddled with parasitic worms burrowing out of her skin and multiple small abscess on her body and at the base of her ear she's been working for at least the last 2 months prior to her arrival at the Center without one day off! Where the harness for her logging equipment fastens she's got a small but deeply infected wound, it's no surprise then that she's on the thin side. None of these are permanent or life threatening injuries at the moment, however, they certainly aren't comfortable and if left untreated could progress into more serious issues.
Despite her hard life Mae Kham Mai has a very calm temperament and listens carefully to her mahout's voice. She's a little wary of newcomers at first but quickly warms to them after a few minutes of soothing words and compassionate contact.
Thongkhoon - Medical Report 20/06/2012
20/06/2012
[ENGLISH] (Texte en francais ci-dessous)
It's amazing what a difference a day makes.... Each day Phu Thongkhoon is looking stronger, healthier and happier. His wounds from the earlier reaction are healing nicely, he's eating with gusto and just appears to finally be enjoying life a little! He's incredibly pampered here at the Hospital what with fresh fruit and veg three times per day, choice areas of the forest to graze and 100% of our attention.
It's been quite a steep climb to get to this point, many times we almost lost hope and thought we would never get anywhere... but it just shows that perseverance pays off in the end. Each and every elephant is essential to the survival of elephants in Laos and as Phu Thongkhoon is a large and fertile male he may just help bring a few more of those elusive baby elephants into the world!
We're starting to relax a bit now as Phu Thongkhoon is doing so well, we're out of the woods but not yet far enough from the trees. With a few more days of steady progress and no complications we'll all be over the moon!
Lorna Broughton MRCVS and William Thomas MRCVS
20/06/2012
[FRANÇAIS]
C'est incroyable de voir l'état de santé de Thongkoon évoluer aussi vite... Chaque jour, il gagne en force, en santé et en bonne humeur ! Ses blessures dues à la réaction au traitement guérissent bien, il mange avec appétit et semble enfin commencer à profiter à nouveau de la vie ! Il est incroyablement choyé ici à l'hôpital, recevant chaque trois fois par jours fruits frais et légumes, un large espace forestier pour paître et 100% de notre attention.
Ca n'a pas été simple d'en arriver là ! Plusieurs fois nous avons presque perdu espoir et avons pensé ne jamais en arriver là où nous somme aujourd'hui.... mais cela montre simplement que la persévérance paie toujours. Chaque éléphant est essentiel à la survie de l'espèce au Laos et en tant que grand mâle fertile dans la force de l'âge, Thongkoon pourra certainement aider son espèce en se reproduisant. Chaque bébé éléphants compte aujourd'hui !
Nous commençons à nous détendre un peu maintenant comme Phu Thongkhoon se porte si bien, nous sommes sortis du bois, mais pas encore assez loin des arbres. Avec quelques jours de plus de progrès constants et sans complications, nous serons tous sur la lune!
Lorna Broughton & William Thomas
Vétérinaires, Hôpital des Eléphant, Centre de Conservation de l'Eléphant
(Texte en francais plus bas)
[ENGLISH]
03/06/2012
Tongkoun is continuing to recover well, after his initial rapid recovery he is now improving more slowly. He is eating and drinking well and seems to be enjoying life at the Centre along with his mahout Dam who is well liked among the staff. He enjoys his daily baths and is always the perfect gentleman in the crush during treatment. His course of drugs has now finished but we still see him daily to treat the wounds caused by his reaction to the antitoxin and to feed him many buckets of food. He seems to like showing off how wide he can open his mouth when we feed him corn! He still has many small wounds caused by the antitoxin, it is a shame the drug we used to save him is now causing him problems but we feel it is a small price to pay for what may have been his life!
Lorna Broughton MRCVS and William Thomas MRCVS
26 & 27/05/2012
We're starting to ease back on our treatment of Phu Thongkhoon. Over the last few days he's come on leaps and bounds, happy to eat away in the forest and always keen for some extra fruit at the hospital! We can't quite believe what a remarkable improvement we're seeing. Our only concern is that some of the drugs he had can produce a delayed reaction, so we'll hold off celebrating for another week or so.
In the mean time there's a lot of TLC needed to build his strength up, a full time job for vets and mahouts alike! He's still being supplemented with vitamins and fresh food...it's always a nice reminder to know that his digestive tract is working again EVERY time he visits the hospital!
So we're not there yet but now we are really starting to believe there may be light at the end of the tunnel for this fantastic elephant.
Lorna Broughton MRCVS and William Thomas MRCVS
23/05/2012
Thongkhoon is continuing to improve at a steady rate, it's great to see him eating regularly now - steamed corn, cucumbers, sticky rice and fruit are a constant feature in his daily diet. He's still being treated by the team twice a day and is being a fantastic patient even though he's starting to resemble a very large pin cushion!
We're all still wary of being overly enthusiastic but the change is undeniable. As we're lacking in elephant-sized scales we have to use a rather rudimendtary method of measuring around his chest which gives us some indication of his change in weight; In only four days he has increased by 5cm (which may not seem like much but represents a significant difference!).
Much of our time is taken up with the nursing duties for Thongkhoon; tempting him to eat, taking him for a bath and just generally keeping an eye on him. It's incredibly satisfying to see the hard work of the vet team and the support by all our donors paying off. Again, a warm thank you to all who have contributed!
22/05/2012
It's really amazing to see Thongkhoon today compared to his arrival at the hospital only a few days ago. He's willing to take handfuls of sticky rice and steamed corn with his trunk... His mahout came to see us this morning with a smile on his face, Thongkhoon ate overnight in the forest! Not too much but this is the first time we've seen any signs that he will eat by himself...
After an afternoon bath and monsoon shower he ate his way through three buckets of fresh fruit and rice - showing us all that the hard work and medicine are starting to pay off. It's slow going though and we have to hand feed him most of the time, tucking the food far towards the back of his mouth. He chews for a long time and fatigues easily so little and often is the rule. Today he also drank a 'normal' amount for the first time so there was no need for intravenous fluids!
It appears that he might be becoming quite a famous elephant as we had a visit from another owner (with ten elephants) who wanted to have a look at the hospital and pay his respects. He told us that he would pray for Thongkhoon and if he pulls through will give up meat for 7 days.
With slow but steady improvement every day the veterinary team are starting to feel a little optimism creeping in... it's still early days but we may just be turning a corner.
21/05/2012
Each day we're building on the successes of the last. Today Thongkhoon drank a large amount of water from the lake without any prompting and for the first time since he arrived he seemed to have a little bit of energy. He walks with more enthusiasm, swings his trunk and even his ears have some movement. For the last few days Thongkhoon has been picking food from the forest, throwing it around then tragically tucking it between his trunk and tusk being unable to eat it. This afternoon he repeated this behaviour... and then managed to put it in his mouth and eat the lot, albeit slowly and only one mouthful.
It's difficult not to get excited when we see his improvement compared to his state on arrival yet everybody here is aware that this could just be a short lived lull. Everyday we repeat his medication, tempt him with food and take him to the lake. We need this pattern of progress to continue and of course we all have our fingers and toes crossed!
Lorna Broughton & William Thomas
Veterinarians, ECC Elephant Hospital
ElefantAsia and our staff would like to thank everyone who has made generous donations to support the treatment of sick elephant, Phu Thongkhoon. Our veterinary team are currently purchasing the anti toxins that are needed to give this elephant a fighting chance of survival. Donations have been such that we have already made our target of $2,000, however our vets cannot anticipate how long Phu Thongkhoun's recovery will take and therefore the ElefantAsia request that if you can you keep giving so we may continue to administer the care and treatment of this elephant for as long as it takes. Any additional funding not utilised to care for Phu Thongkhoon will be used to treat other working elephants in Laos suffering from injury or illness.
[FRANCAIS]
03/06/2012
Tongkoun continue à bien récupérer. Après son rapide rétablissement initial, il est en train de s'améliorer plus lentement. Il mange et boit bien et semble profiter de la vie au Centre avec son cornac qui est très apprécié du personnel résident. Il prend plaisir à prendre ses bains quotidiens et demeure un parfait gentleman dans le 'Crush' (la cage d'immobilisation utilisée pendant le traitement). Son traitement anti tétanique est maintenant terminé, mais nous l'accueillons en visite tous les jours pour traiter les blessures causées par sa réaction à l'antitoxine et lui donner plusieurs seaux de nourriture à manger. Il semble aimer montrer qu'il peut maintenant ouvrir la bouche pour avaler les épis de maïs ! Il a encore beaucoup de petites blessures causées par l'antitoxine... Il est bien dommage que le médicament utilisé pour le sauver soit maintenant en train de lui causer des problèmes ! Mais nous pensons que c'est un petit prix à payer au regard de ce qu'a été sa vie ces dernières semaines !
Lorna Broughton et William Thomas, Vétérinaires
26 & 27/05/2012
Nous commençons à limiter le traitement de Phu Thongkhoon. Au cours des derniers jours, sa santé a progressé à pas de géant ! il est mange par ses propres moyens dans la forêt et est toujours prêt pour quelques rations supplémentaire de fruits à l'hôpital ! Nous avons du mal à croire en cette remarquable, mais improbable, amélioration. Notre seul souci est que certains des médicaments que nous utilisons puissent produire une réaction à retardement. Nous continuons donc à garder l'éléphant sous haute surveillance, en espérant pouvoir fêter le rétablissement de l'animal dans une ou deux semaines ! Nous lui donnons toutefois toute l'attention et la tendresse qu'il mérite pour retrouver ses forces, et son cas demeure un emploi à plein temps pour les vétérinaires et les cornacs du Centre ! Il reçoit toujours des vitamines et des compléments alimentaires... et son tube digestif fonctionne toujours correctement, et à chaque fois qu'il visite l'hôpital ! Donc, bien que le chemin du rétablissement ne semble pas encore tout à fait à portée de trompe, nous commençons vraiment à apercevoir la lumière au bout du tunnel pour ce merveilleux éléphant.
Lorna Broughton et William Thomas, Vétérinaires
23/05/2012
Thongkhoon continue de s'améliorer à un rythme régulier. Il est bon de le voir manger régulièrement maintenant - du maïs cuit à la vapeur, des concombres, du riz gluant et des fruits forment son alimentation quotidienne. Il est toujours en cours de traitement par l'équipe deux fois par jour et reste un patient fantastique, même s'il commence à ressembler à une très grosse pelote piquée d'épingles !
Nous nous gardons cependant tous d'être top enthousiastes, mais le changement est indéniable. La mesure quotidienne de son tour de poitrine nous donne une certaine indication sur son changement de poids. En seulement quatre jours, il a augmenté de 5cm (ce qui peut ne pas sembler beaucoup mais représente une différence significative !)
Une grande partie de notre temps est consacrée à des tâches de soins infirmiers pour Thongkhoon; tentant de le faire manger, l'emmenant au bain ou simplement en gardant un œil sur lui. Il est très satisfaisant de voir le travail acharné de l'équipe vétérinaire et le soutien de tous nos généreux donateurs porter ses fruits. Merci encore à tous ceux qui nous aident.
22/05/2012
Ca a été vraiment étonnant de voir Thongkhoon aujourd'hui par rapport à son arrivée à l'hôpital il y a seulement quelques jours encore. Il essaie d'attraper des poignées de riz gluant et de maïs avec sa trompe... Son cornac est venu nous voir ce matin arborant un large sourire sur son visage ! Thongkhoon mangé la nuit dans la forêt ! Pas beaucoup, mais c'est la première fois que nous voyons des signes prouvant qu'il ait mangé par lui-même...
Après un bain l'après-midi et une douche sous les pluies de mousson, il a avalé trois seaux de fruits frais et du riz - nous montrant que le travail acharné et la médecine commencent à porter leurs fruits. C'est lent et nous devons encore le nourrir à la main, lui insérant la nourriture loin vers la gorge. Il mâche lentement et longtemps et fatigue facilement... Donc peu et souvent... c'est la règle. Aujourd'hui, il a aussi bu une quantité «normale» d'eau pour la première fois et il n'y a donc pas eu besoin de lui injecter de solutions en intraveineuse !
Il semblerait qu'il soit en train de devenir un peu célèbre car nous avons eu la visite d'un autre propriétaire d'éléphants (il en possède dix !) qui voulait jeter un oeil à l'hôpital et saluer notre équipe. Il nous a dit qu'il prierait pour Thongkhoon et que si l'éléphant s'en tirait, il cesserait de consommer de la viande pendant 7 jours !
L'amélioration lente mais régulière de l'état de santé de Thongkoon donne un peu d'optimisme à l'équipe vétérinaire... même s'il est certainement encore trop tôt pour se réjouir. Mais nous avons peut être atteint un tournant. A suivre...
21/05/2012
Chaque jour, nous nous appuyons sur les succès de la veille. Aujourd'hui Thongkhoon a bu une grande quantité d'eau du lac sans assistance et, pour la première fois depuis son arrivée, il semblait avoir un peu d'énergie. Il marche avec plus d'enthousiasme, balance sa trompe... même ses oreilles sont en mouvement. Ces derniers jours, Thongkhoon récoltait de la nourriture en forêt et la gardait tragiquement entre sa trompe et ses défenses, incapable de l'ingérer.... Cet après-midi il a répété ce comportement ... mais a enfin réussi à l'insérer dans sa bouche et à manger, quoique lentement et une seule bouchée.
Il est difficile de ne pas s'enthousiasmer à la vue de ces améliorations par rapport à son état à son arrivée même si tout le monde ici est bien conscient que ce pourrait être simplement une amélioration de courte durée. Chaque jour, nous répétons son traitement, le tentons avec de la nourriture et de l'emmenons au lac. Nous avions besoin de ces progrès pour poursuivre le traitement et bien sûr nous avons tous doigts et les orteils croisés!
Nous continuerons à vous donner des informations sur l'état de Thongkhoon,
Lorna Broughton & William Thomas
Vétérinaires, Hôpital des Eléphant, Centre de Conservation de l'Eléphant
L'équipe d'ElefantAsia et du Centre de Conservation de l'Eléphant tiennent à remercier tous ceux qui ont fait des dons généreux pour soutenir le traitement de l'éléphant malade, Phu Thongkhoon. Notre équipe de vétérinaires est en train procéder au traitement de l'animal en espérant qu'il survive. Les dons ont été tels que nous avons déjà atteint notre objectif de 2000 $, mais nos vétérinaires ne peuvent pas estimer la durée du rétablissement de Phu Thongkhoun. ElefantAsia ne mets donc pas encore fin à sa campagne de collecte de fonds car nous devons être en mesure de continuer à administrer les soins et le traitement à cet éléphant pendant toute la durée nécessaire à son rétablissement. Tout financement non utilisé pour soigner Phu Thongkhoon sera utilisé pour traiter d'autres éléphants de bât souffrant de blessures ou de maladie au Laos.
Thongkhoon - Medical Report 18/05/2012
[ENGLISH]
It's a constant battle to keep Thongkhoon hydrated in temperatures reaching 38degrees C but we're managing to slip a hose into his mouth every hour and he drinks a few litres at a time. The rest of the day he rests in the shade or we have him on a drip supplemented with sugars and electrolytes. Today we increased his dose of muscle relaxants and this seemed to make him a bit happier and his jaw relaxed a little... Twice a day he's having Anti-Toxin injections which (with fingers crossed) seem to be making a difference! We had a small victory today - for the first time in over 10 days he managed to open his mouth! Not wide, and not for too long but hopefully it's a step in the right direction. We managed to get a mix of fresh mango, bananas, rice and some electrolytes into him. He struggles to swallow but managed to get one or two bananas down which made us all very happy! The plan for tomorrow is to attempt to pass a tube into his stomach so we can give him the food he desperately needs - which was impossible yesterday with his mouth clamped shut, but if he continues to improve then it's a definite possibility! We're lucky to have such a good patient, it can't be pleasant having needles poked into you all day long and he never complains! It's too early to tell what will happen but we're all working around the clock to help him pull through.
Lorna Broughton & William Thomas
Veterinarians, ECC Elephant Hospital
-----------
[FRENCH]
C'est une bataille constante pour maintenir Thongkhoon hydraté à des températures atteignant 38 ° C, mais nous avons réussi à glisser un tuyau dans sa bouche toutes les heures et il boit quelques litres à la fois. Le reste de la journée il se repose à l'ombre ou nous lui installons des perfusions de sucres et d'électrolytes. Aujourd'hui, nous avons augmenté sa dose de relaxants musculaires, ce qui semblait faire effet car sa mâchoire s'est un peu détendue... Deux fois par jour il reçoit des injections d'anti-toxines qui (touchons du bois) semblent faire une différence ! Un espoir : pour la première fois en plus de 10 jours, il a réussi à ouvrir la bouche! Pas largement, et pas très longtemps, mais c'est un pas dans la bonne direction. Nous avons réussi à lui faire avaler un mélange de mangue fraîche, de bananes, de riz et d'électrolytes. Il a du mal à avaler, mais a réussi à manger une ou deux bananes, ce qui nous a tous rendus très heureux ! Le plan pour demain est de tenter de passer un tube dans son estomac afin que nous puissions lui donner la nourriture dont il a désespérément besoin - ce qui était impossible hier avec sa bouche complètement bloquée. Mais s'il continue à progresser, alors c'est imaginable. Nous sommes chanceux d'avoir un aussi bon patient. Il se comporte merveilleusement bien qu'il ne doit pas être très agréable d'avoir des aiguilles plantées dans le corps à longueur de journée. Il ne se plaint jamais ! Il est trop tôt pour dire ce qui va arriver, mais nous travaillons tous sans interruption pour l'aider à s'en sortir.
Lorna Broughton & William Thomas
Vétérinaires, Hôpital des Eléphant, Centre de Conservation de l'Eléphant
Saving Thonkhoon!
NEWSFLASH to our SUBSCRIBERS
URGENT REQUEST FOR SUPPORT
[ENGLISH]
Dear Friends and Supporters of ElefantAsia,
ElefantAsia works to secure and protect the health and wellbeing of the captive Asian elephant in Laos.
Currently our team are treating an elephant suffering from tetanus, a disease which is life threatening. Phu Thongkhoun aged 45 is extremely sick and has been transported to the Elephant Hospital in Sayaboury from his home in Paklay to receive appropriate care. Thin and exhausted, he cannot open his mouth to eat or drink and he is slowly dying of starvation. The ElefantAsia vets have commenced IV fluids however Phu Thongkhoun desperately needs anti toxins to remove the infection from his body, although even with this treatment there are no guarantees of his survival.
The anti toxins and care needed by this elephant is in excess of $2,000 (€1,600) and ElefantAsia requests your financial support to assist us treat this sick elephant.
Donations to give Phu Thongkhoun a fighting chance of survival can be simply made by clicking the secured Paypal button below.
Thank you for your support.
(ENGLISH - USD)
New Tusker Arrives at the Center
The Elephant Conservation Center in Sayaboury proudly announces the arrival of 29 year old male tusker, Phu Thongkoon. Born in Hongsa district, Phu Thongkhoon worked in the logging industry until recently when he was rescued by the Center with the assistance of The Elephants Umbrella Fund.
Overworked, Phu Thongkoon arrived at the ECC weak and malnourished, suffering also from a painful abscess located on his back. The ElefantAsia veterinarian team based at the Center wasted no time in treating their new patient, supplementing the elephant's diet with vitamins and daily intake of locally grown vegetation with sticky rice to assist with weight gain, whilst cleansing and treating the abscess.
Phu Thongkoon will now take rest from his long and strenuous career within the logging industry and enjoy the tranquil setting of the Elephant Conservation Center. However it will not be all fun and games for this young tusker, Phu Thongkoon has a vital role to play in the saving of the Asian elephant from extinction in Laos. So, no pressure!
With current birth ratios in Laos at 3-5 per annum versus an average annual death rate of 15, there is a need to drastically increase the elephant births within the remaining captive population.
ElefantAsia in collaboration with the ECC is implementing the country's first ever managed breeding programme. Once in full health, Phu Thongkoon will be used to sire some of the females residing at the Center, as well as other cows whose owners wish to breed their elephant. ElefantAsia hopes that waiving the costly stud fee usually implicated with such service will promote further breeding opportunities amongst mahout communities.
Announcing arrival of Xang Noy Number Two
Elephant babies it seems in Laos are like buses, you wait an age for one and two arrive at once!
Having reported Laos' first registered elephant birth of 2011 in Ban Viengkeo, Hongsa late September, ElefantAsia proudly announces the birth of a second baby elephant born in Sayaboury just last week. The birth of a new life is always cause for celebration, particularly those of an endangered species, however this delivery is extra special as it marks the first of hopefully many baby elephants to be born at the newly established Elephant Conservation Center in Sayaboury.
Situated on the banks of the tranquil Nam Tien Lake, a mere eight kilometres from the town of Sayaboury, the Elephant Conservation Center is already home to a growing number of elephants. This new birth increases the existing herd to seven, with the arrival of a further two elephants also expected in the shape of mother and calf from Ban Viengkeo, whom will make the journey from Hongsa to the Center when the baby is strong enough to travel.
The Elephant Conservation Center, launched in association with conservation organisation ElefantAsia, is the first of its kind in Laos. Not another elephant camp, the Center is specifically designed to promote breeding within remaining elephant populations, working to avoid extinction of the species through the implementation of a managed breeding programme.
With an innovative approach that combines conservation of the Asian elephant with eco-tourism, the Center offers a unique experience for guests wishing to discover and experience more about the natural environment, the culture of the Mahout and endangered species management in Laos. Guests can also take opportunity to trek in the forest, explore the lake by boat, or simply while away an hour or two watching the calves play - with not one, but an expected three baby elephants plenty of mischievousness is surely a guarantee.
Born to mother Mae Thongkhoun under the supervision of ECC staff, this new baby elephant, a male, will share the same name 'Noy' meaning small with the other calves at the Center until the age of two or three when during an official animist ceremony he will chose his own name through the selection of specially carved sugar cane.
Be one of the first to see the new born elephant. To make a booking or for further information about the Elephant Conservation Center, please visit website: www.elephantconservationcenter.com
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Tel No: +856 (0) 20 23 025 210
+856 (0) 20 96 590 665
